U.S.

Penn. Man Threw Away $1.25M In Lotto Winnings

A man accidentally threw away his winning lottery tickets. He plays the same numbers every day but misread the winning numbers in March 2013.

Penn. Man Threw Away $1.25M In Lotto Winnings
Wikimedia Commons / Pennsylvania Lottery
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The irony is palpable in this story. A guy plays the same numbers every day in the lottery, and one day — he wins.

The York Daily Record reports the man goes to the same corner grocery store in Pennsylvania every day and buys 20-25 tickets with the same numbers — 4-3-4-1-8 — often spending about $100 on them a day.

On March 13, 2013, his strategy finally paid off playing the game Quinto. The 25 tickets he bought were each worth $50,000 each for a grand total of $1.25 million. (Via YouTube / Pennsylvania Lottery)

Sounds great, right? Well ... here's where the irony comes in.

"He apparently misread them and tossed them in the trash. Even if he did retrieve them, the tickets have since expired." (Via WCAU)

That's right, this avid lottery player accidentally threw away his winning tickets. 

The Pennsylvania Lottery released a news release in February 2014 urging people to claim their winnings, saying 25 tickets matching the man's five favorite numbers were still unclaimed nearly a year later.

When the guy discovered his mistake, he was reportedly pretty darn mad. New York Daily News says he wound up dropping $400 that day on tickets.

The unclaimed cash will stay in the state's lottery fund, which provides benefits for Pennsylvania's senior citizens.